US Military Operation Against Maduro

In the middle of the night, the U S.

military attacked a sitting head of state and captured him.

Two hours later, it was over.

Today he's sitting in a jail cell in Brooklyn.

This is how America took down a president in under three hours.

Nicolás Maduro had ruled Venezuela since 2013.

In July 2024, he lost re election badly but refused to leave.

– blocking opposition leader Maria Corina Machado

from the race and declaring himself winner anyway.

He stayed in power another year and a half.

Starting that September, the U S.

began striking boats in the Caribbean,

accusing them of running drugs for Maduro as warships piled up offshore.

Something bigger was coming.

It arrived on 3 January 2026.

The CIA had tracked Maduro for months.

At 2 a m., Trump gave the final go ahead.

More than 150 aircraft launched from 20 bases. U S.

forces bombed air defenses while helicopters flew in low,

straight to Maduro's compound.

The raid, codenamed Absolute Resolve, took two hours and 28 minutes.

Trump called it perfectly executed. Seven U S. troops were hurt.

No Americans died.

Venezuela's government says over 100 people were killed on its side.

Maduro and his wife were flown to a U S. warship, then to New York.

Two days later,

they pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking and narco terrorism charges.

Maduro is still there today, awaiting his next hearing.

So here's where things stand. In just three hours.

America brought down a president and,

supporters argue, gave

the people of Venezuela a chance to work toward a better future.

What happens next is a story that's still unfolding.